Along with my normal exercise goal of 1200 minutes in February, I set a goal to walk 8000 steps most days. That takes a bit more movement than a 40 minute walk, so it's getting me to move around more during the day -- more spontaneous exercise. Credit for trying something new!

Blood pressure checked at the allergist's yesterday was normal. That was a quick turn-around! I was worried that I'd end up on blood pressure medication again before I could get the 2014 gain back off.

WI: -0.15 kg, Exercise: +40 80/1200 minutes for February, Food: 100% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

karenrn: Yay for a 2-day streak of on plan eating!

BillBlueEyes: that's a LOT of snow!

nationalparker: hope you're journaling went well. I don't feel myself if I go too long without journaling. It's like I need to write letters to myself to know what's really going on.

curlyjax: my brother and I managed to be careful in that way after my parents died. In the end, we had more struggle along the lines of "You should keep this." "No, you should." Good for you for being so aware of how you're experiencing the losses.

maryann: thanks for the observation that we can be more present when food piece is working -- that is so true for me, but I hadn't put it together.

Fine day food-wise ... and didn't plan to do anything this evening other than watch a movie I'd borrowed from the library. Got all key chores tackled last night. Have started trying to ensure that the house is picked up before i turn in ... a bit more of a peaceful mindset when it is.

Bill - Recommending the movie I watched "Another Year" if you've not seen it yet - from back in 2010. I don't follow awards so don't know if she was lauded for it, but the actress, Lesley Manville, who played the friend/coworker in this movie did a bang-up job. Left me a bit melancholy but thinking.

Journaled only a couple of lines last night - I have always gleaned satisfaction from it ... but lately I just am not. I started a fresh one in '15 and it has only a few pages written on. Perhaps I set my alarm a bit earlier in mornings to set aside 10 minutes to light a candle, brew a cup of tea and write a few lines.

Joy - Good news about the BP at the allergist's - good to have positive habits reflect well in "tests" :) I typically enjoy more journaling when alone ... DH always mentions, "I never saw the need to write things down." I routinely reply, "I don't see the NEED, but I find the enjoyment." ... but then I close it up and put it away. I wonder why I do that.

Bought another grand package of the variety of small tomato varieties. I will see if DH is good with bruschetta and tapas for tomorrow's dinner ... olives, almonds, chorizo (for him), fig or pear, and a salad. When I lived in Spain and we would go tapa hopping, it wasn't as high-falutin' as it's getting here...we just had thick papas frites, Spanish tortilla (egg, not tortillas), bread and chorizo, fried merluza, etc. I just went along and hoped someone else brought their young teenager, too :)

Better weigh tomorrow morning. It's been a few days. Feel like I'm just hanging on.

Good Evening, Coaches.

A challenging day at work. A student threatened to "kick my ***" when I asked her to wait outside while I dealt with a few other kids.I inservice a group of teachers on writing and they were tense about teaching writing and/or having anyone inservice them. My partner in the inservice is the new "me" sent from the district office. Although I am purposely setting her up to take some of the load off my shoulders, I jealously listen to other teachers going to her for advice. Now figure that out.

Basically my acceptance of people, places and things is minimal this week. So I need to remember, acceptance is not approval. There will be no peace until I focus on me instead of what is wrong with others. So proud of myself that I was having 100% day until cooking dinner and then made a STANDING decision to eat the cheese I was grating rather than what was written. "Sigh." I work through the cheat sheet. Discovered:
1. I hadn't read my advantage cards yet.
2. I could have asked my husband to grate the cheese since I knew it was a trigger.
3. I could sit down for awhile because I was exhausted.

Wore my fitbit all day again. i realized how few calories I actually burn compared to what MFP says. Eye opening. On perfect days I am only a few hundred calories below what I burn. That would take me 18 days of perfect to lose a pound. Oh wait - it does take me 18 days to lose a pound.

Food is planned for tomorrow. I am going for 100% starting this minute.

Karenrn: Super credit two days in a row. That is a big deal. I hope I can get that soon.

curlyjax: I agree that it is easy to grieve a passing generation. I was walking on my old college campus and realized how many of the professors were passed that made a difference to me. None of the students walking around me even know they existed. What a funny thing life is! Brand new babies make my heart sing and giggle with all the new life and spirit they bring us but I don't ever want to let the old go.

BBE: I think it is great exercise to walk on the icy sidewalk. It forces you to use all the tiny muscles that hold together your little muscles which hold together the big ones. But I agree with Nationalparker, you have got to be careful.

gardenerjoy: I walked 7,000 steps at work today. That is what the fitbit said. I am going to try for between 8,000 to 10,000 on my days off.

good
 

Coaches

Fast check in via phone:

Was on plan. Good. Retrieved teapot from guild kiln. It survived and is ready for the show next week. Good. Weighed in and saw 275. 6. Good. Down 9.2lbs now. Good. Made soup I will call "cabbage roll soup" from failed crock pot spaghetti sauce. Created it on the fly! Good. Tastes good too. Have leftovers. Also good.

Goodnight!

Wednesday
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Today's shoveling and snow blowing took several hours of good exercise, CREDIT moi. The neighborhood spirit continues: I introduced two mothers whose daughters are of similar age; I talked oil tank leakage with a neighbor thinking of buying a house with that problem (potentially disastrous costs); and I learned the bid/sell prices of some recently sold houses. More exercise when I walked to the library to return a book and later walked to an evening lecture that combined the Chicxulub crater with the Deccan magma chamber volcanoes to cause the extinction of the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago (the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event). Those have been competing theories; this lecture combined them by the notion that the asteroid of the Chicxulub crater set off the Deccan chamber volcanoes. Twas a full day.

Food was OK. Salmon for dinner after we got home late. Snacks still need to be trimmed.


onebyone – My mind boggles at "cabbage roll soup" from failed crock pot spaghetti sauce. Hats off for creative cooking.

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Yep, Kudos, once again, for making your exercise goals, as well as for trying something new. Yay for normal blood pressure.

maryann - Kudos for surviving a rough day at school. LOL at, "Oh wait - it does take me 18 days to lose a pound."

nationalparker – Drooling over the tapas you're making and the ones you had in Spain (even though a teenager). Kudos for taking it seriously to pick up stuff. [Thanks for the link to watch the trailer of Another Year - added to my list.]

Karen (karenrn) - Yay for marching along with that full backpack.

Readers -

Quick check-in. I've been doing better about managing my days and expectations so that I don't feel behind. Today's list might challenge that.

WI: +0.35 kg, Exercise: +40 120/1200 minutes for February, Food: 100% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

Good morning coaches

Three days on plan with food, credit. Did strength training at the Y yesterday, credit. I think I'll get out for a 90 minute fairly easy hike today cause tomorrow we will attempt Flatiron again and the weather will be fine. So actually we will be hiking Flatiron and although not long, it's 2800 feet elevation gain in a short distance. I don't want tired legs to start with.

I'm reading my cards and actually filling out the SS sheet. This weight watching thing seems like about a full time job. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I actually lost weight.

One of my problems is deciding how many calories to eat each day. I know I can't eat back all my exercise calories. On the days I get little exercise, it seems like it isn't much food. Sometimes I don't get much done around home cause I'd rather go hiking and burn calories, so I can eat more. Right now I'm really trying to leave the beer alone and that does help.

Joy You are an inspiration with your diligence. Hope your day goes smoothly.

Bill You must be getting either sore shoulders or strong shoulders from all the snow shoveling you've been doing. Have only seen the pictures on the news and it sure looks beautiful.

Onebyone You are doing super. Your plan is really working, or should I say you are really working your plan.

Maryann What a day you had. I can't imagine what teachers are having to put up with these days.

NationalParker You are sounding so organized. I should be, I certainly have the time to be. I am pretty neat around here, but I need to do some deep cleaning. Aren't you going on vacation soon? Where are you going? Maybe you should come to Arizona some time?

Well, I guess I'll plan the day and get with it now. First, I'll plan the food.

Hi Coaches!

My 1st day off and I've already been to Denver and back in a snowstorm to p/u the dog, who is also affected by this family breakdown. The rest of the situation has not improved. It's got me feeling pretty depressed and I didn't sleep well last night. It really seems hopeless and endless and all I want is to go back to my previous (abnormal) life....

I just read my "Just For Today" card, courtesy of alanon. I don't feel lots better yet but it always helps me.

My food has been good. I've gone back to my South Beach Ph.1.5, low on carbs but includes fruit. Weighed this morning and scale is moving down rapidly (water weight) . I'm back within a 4# acceptable range. I read my cards this morning. I have a mental food plan for today.(easy) I'm going to keep moving forward with the company end of year paperwork so I'm not fretting over it when time has run out. I'm going to give myself permission to nap and read a book in between.

I'm going to seek progress not perfection. Credit.

Hello Coaches,

All is well. I feel like I am in control of the food I am eating and for that I am grateful. It feels good to be eating healthy food and I am not missing what I am not eating.

curlyjax- sorry about the loss of your mother-in-law.

Take care everyone and will report in this weekend.

:grouphug:

Good Evening, Coaches.

Early home due to sickness. Maybe a stomach bug or something I ate. Changed out food to rice rather than spicer plan. Did manage to force down a few home cookies with the justification that it "feels" like I can keep it down. suspicious. But everything is logged. And I checked in here. Weight at ticker.

Thursday - National Weatherman's Day
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Only minor shoveling to get better prepared for the flurries coming over the next few days. The goal is to get cleared to the bare sidewalk so that the thaw-freeze cycle doesn't create ice. Walked, CREDIT moi, to an evening event from which I was offered a ride home by kindly friends who just couldn't believe that I wanted to be out on the ice at night.

Dinner was 13 bean soup - a winter fav. Meals continued on plan, CREDIT moi, and snacks continued to need trimming. Today's goal is to use all spare time to finish the Alan Turing book, The Imitation Game, that's due Friday and can't be renewed because of the stack of holds on it. I'm loving the book; Turing wrestled with devising memory for his first computer since magnetic core memory hadn't been invented yet by An Wang and Jay Forrester. It's the little things that grab me: He had to invent the bootstrap loader to get his instruction table into his machine. Of course.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Yay for progress in time management.

CeeJay - What a great sentence: "I am in control of the food I am eating."

Debbie (Lexxiss) – Super Kudos for remembering to play your "Just For Today" card. Continuing to send supportive thoughts your way.

maryann - Hope that sickness is transient.

Karen (karenrn) - What a great way to start the day: "First, I'll plan the food."

Readers -

Hi Coaches!

I am down 6# since I went back to my stricter phase of SBD. Credit. Even when the scale was up, I felt like I was mostly retaining water as a result of too many (healthy) carbs and way too much stress. My initial result confirms that and it feels better to see the lower #. DH returns today. I'm going to give my best to continue on my path as he enjoys his. The key-Plan! I can do that! Read my cards and perused my SS sheet. Life is good, amidst the chaos!

BBE, your computer talk always reminds me of my first computer class in 1978. My prof was a bit odd, but he loved Wang! You have certainly had a lot of spontaneous shoveling exercise! Yay for 13 bean soup@

MaryAnn, I hope you are feeling better already. Kudos for your persistence with your food program. As I was thinking how "we" need to be so rigorous and consistent I thought about our athletic club….you see the same folks (many at normal weight) every day….before work, lunch break, after work….I believe it's an important process for everyone, not just "us".

CeeJay, yay for control of food. It's what I like best about SBD. The WOE seems to make me feel just right. The longer I follow, the easier it gets. Kudos!

Karenrn, kudos for reading cards and filling out the SS sheet. And always, I am so impressed with your dedication to your hiking!

Gardenerjoy, kudos for a quick check in and for better managing your days!

Onebyone, persist to victory!

Nationalparker, kudos for starting to pick up the house before you turn in. It makes for a fresh start every morning!

Curlyjax, I hope you are finding peace after your emotional weekend. Thanks for sharing a touchful memorial of your MIL and her community!

Take care everyone! Thanks, always, for being here!

hi coaches- thanks for all the kind words. I find myself very melancholy over the memorial service, memories etc and will probably continue to be for a bit, in this loooooong winter.
I find myself really just maintaining for the past few months so I kind of feel like a sham posting here, not actively trying to lose weight which I need to do. I just have been depressed for a long time and hard to kick myself out of this inertia. But I really like to read everyones posts and cheer you on, so I am going to keep going, and one of these days will kick myself into gear.
Its encouraging to see folks who are motivated!!

Lexiss- I like the idea of Just for Today card, I should adopt that!

Waving to all!

DH ate the snack I planned and changed his mind about supper. So he can have my 80% OP and my +0.05. It's probably a moral failing on my part that it makes me feel better to give him the blame. But, just for today, it's also helping me not freak out that I'm more than a pound higher than I was on the 1st. I don't mind playing silly mental games with myself when they help me with my goals.

WI: +0.05 kg, Exercise: +40 120/1200 minutes for February, Food: 80% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

BillBlueEyes: I have the Turing book on hold. 43rd in line -- it was 300+ so that's not bad.

maryann: hope your stomach is improved this morning. My natural instinct is to treat stomach ailments with food. Bizarre, but then, my natural instinct is to treat everything with food, so why would this be any different?

CeeJay: It's wonderful that you're finding peace within your food plan.

Lexxiss: Love seeing this: Life is good, amidst the chaos!

karenrn: eating back my exercise calories doesn't work at all for me, but I don't exercise as much as you. I just realized one of the reasons that I'm resisting getting back to My Fitness Plan is that I attached it to FitBit. I need to detach it because it gave me bad advice and contributed to my disastrous 2014.

curlyjax: you definitely have my permission to keep posting. I kept posting through 2014 while gaining 28 pounds! If I didn't get kicked out for that, we better keep every one around. Take care of yourself even if that means grieving and maintaining. When you're ready for "taking care of yourself" to mean reaching for a happier place and more focus on the weight loss, we can help with that, too.

Good morning coaches,

Just a very quick check in this morning. I had to change the food plan yesterday because we ended up going out to dinner, but I chose as wisely as I could and limited the beer to 2. I'll blame it on my husband too, because the reason we went out is because his friend came by and we went out with him before he leaves for Washington today.

I'm heading out shortly to hike Flatiron. It is a good strenuous hike and I won't carry the backpack. I'm going with my friends who I enjoy a lot, so it will be a good day. On top of that it is a nice day weather wise and expected to be in the higher 70's this afternoon. Can't complain about the weather this time of year. You'll hear me complaining this summer.

Hope everybody has a good day!